Portrait of Doctor Gachet, 1890, 67 x 56 cm,
Portrait of Doctor Gachet, 1890,
68 x 57 cm, Musée d'Orsay
THE
NIGHTMARE of the cloister of Saint-Remy ended on the 17th of May, 1890. A warder
accompanied Vincent as far as Tarascon, the home of Tartarin, and then he
travelled alone all night to Paris. He reached his journey's end according to
plan. His brother was waiting for him at the Gare de Lyon, and Vincent laughed
at Theo's anxious expression. Life was not as serious as all that. In fact his
condition was really less serious now than it had been four years ago, for he
had brought something with him on this occasion. The south was a queer place.
Only yesterday he had painted another still-life of roses, two greens, two
pinks, before a yellow background, that was all. The picture seemed to him quite
passable, although a long way behind Monticelli. It was possible that the
pictures he had painted during the last days in the south might repay his
travelling expenses. Theo would see for himself, as soon as they were dry they
would be sent to him. There was not sun enough to paint pictures like that in
Paris, but instead he might perhaps paint one of the shops with their show
windows, one of the yellow bookshops in the gas-light. Artificial light had
attracted him for a long time, and he wanted to paint an empty street with its
lighted lamps in the early morning.
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